Month: July 2017

The Pastor and I don’t have many absolutes in our lives. At our house you can count on things never being the same. Our schedules are always changing. One of us is likely to get called away in the middle of an event or have to rush off to work. But there is one thing you can count on. One thing that always remains the same. We cannot, I mean CANNOT, watch America’s Got Talent without both ending up in tears. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I mean, there is the kid that used to be blind; the girl who lost her hearing; the 9 year old who is getting a little sister and for goodness sake a sweet girl from my home state and her puppet. On stage stands someone who is probably in one of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. Sitting across from them are those whose job it is to pass judgement. These people muster up all the guts they can find in their body and get on stage and hope and pray that they will find success. And then, when they are finished, the most wonderful thing happens. The words are spoken.

If you’ve seen the show you know what I’m talking about. It’s more than just telling these performers they were excellent. The power of the words they speak is life changing. Because of the enormous weight with which they are delivered, the words “you are a winner” or “you have a gift” or even “you are beautiful” seem to penetrate into the very heart and soul of those on stage. You can see it in their eyes. It’s as if all the sudden they believe in the person they have always been.

And cue the tears.

Over the past few weeks the Pastor has been teaching our girls about the Sh’ma. It’s an Old Testament Scripture or prayer that contains the Greatest Commandment. And then goes on to remind God’s people to bind the words onto their hands, their foreheads, their hearts. To recite it morning and night. To never forget those important words.

It is not lost on me that the lesson in all of this is that words matter. And as someone who likes to blog and helps keep both the post office and her local Hallmark® store in business, I am a big believer in the power of the written word. But a spoken word is different. It seems to be more weighty, more full.

I hope someday I have the opportunity to speak the truth into someone’s life and change them for the better. Even more I hope someone does the same for both my girls. And I hope they learn the Sh’ma and I hope they know their own words matter. That in a digital world full of memes and gifs and over the top OMGs, that you and I and even they, will have the opportunity to look someone in the eye and tell them how incredible they are and how much they are loved. I hope none of us miss the opportunity.

Summer is in full swing and yesterday was the first Sunday of the Pastor’s sabbatical. For as long as we have been married he has worked at our church. 16 years. For most of those years his weekly day off was my longest day of the work week. And my days off after being on call overnight were the Pastor’s busiest days. So this year he gets to take two months off to rest, recover and reconnect. For the next 8 weeks, Sundays and postcall days will be filled with brunch, swimming, day trips and, hopefully, some other fun adventures as a family.

In honor of all things summer….here are the gynecologist’s list of “Summer DOs and DON’Ts”

DON’T go without sunscreen. Especially you pregnant ladies. I know what you’re thinking…”sunscreen is for people who look like you and those red headed kids of yours.” WRONG. Sunscreen is for everyone. That is, everyone who doesn’t want to get skin cancer or look super wrinkly when they are old. And, sunscreen is for year round. I thought my dermatologist was going to whack me when she found out I wasn’t using a moisturizer with SPF. Don’t worry, I do now…every day…I’d like to avoid looking 100 before I retire. I used to know someone who used hand sanitizer on her kids like a zillion times every day but then those same kids would swim for hours at the peak times of sun exposure turning brown, brown, brown all summer. Just because you don’t get red doesn’t mean your skin is safe friends. Tips for everyone: use broad spectrum SPF 30 or higher; reapply every 2 hours; find water resistant formulas. Pregnant women should opt for oil free (your skin is more prone to break out) and opt for a lotion instead of a spray. (Never spray anyone’s face…esp your kids and remember sprays make it easier to miss spots!). And when your baby comes ask your pediatrician about how best to protect that brand new skin from the sun.

DO wear your seatbelt. This seems obvious to me. The Pastor and I took a recent road trip and you’ll be surprised to know that Missouri and Indiana will tell you how many people died in auto accidents that month. The 10 year old reading road signs alerted us to the number. Ouch. But lots of pregnant patients choose to go without. I wish you could hear how loud I am screaming this at you. Pregnant ladies! For the love of all things including your baby!!! Wear your seatbelts! Put the lap belt UNDER your belly and the shoulder strap across your chest. Auto accidents are a leading cause of death for pregnant women. Your uterus, placenta and fetus were not made to sustain direct or indirect trauma from an accident and you can imagine the increase in magnitude if you are thrown from your vehicle because you failed to wear your seatbelt. A quick search of the CDC will tell you that those without a seatbelt are 30 times more likely to be ejected from the car during an accident and 3 out of 4 ejected individuals will die as a result of their injuries. So let’s all just buckle up, ok friends?

DO use insect repellent. I have no problem with blood and guts. You know this. If you follow along, you also know that I think bugs are the worst! Actual conversation with my dad. Me: Dad, killed a spider outside. It was like the size of my face, I promise. Pastor is out of town, can you spray my house? Dad: If it was outside it was one of the good ones. His death will be on your conscience. But yes, I will come and spray. (end scene). However, as terrifying as spiders are…mosquitos carry all sorts of diseases including zika virus and west nile virus. Then there are ticks. I don’t know if you have seen a tick up close but this image is not for the faint of heart. Tick borne disease are the ones you learn about in med school that have the cool names and then you learn about them and are terrified. Tips: Use your bug spray with DEET (even you pregnant ladies), cover exposed skin, avoid standing water and if you are out doing some crazy activity like sleeping in a tent (no thank you) make sure you check your skin for ticks.

DON’T overgroom. I’m not even sure overgrooming is a word. But for today I am making it one and asking you ladies, pregnant or not, to stop it. Summer is a hassle. Shaving your legs and armpits all the time, wearing a swimsuit; I get it. But let’s not go overboard. Not only are there literally THOUSANDS of grooming related injuries each year, the good Lord gave you pubic hair for a reason. (I know, commence freaking out that the gynecologist said pubic hair in her blog. Resume reading when over freak out moment). And while none of us know the exact reason, it is most likely to keep dirt and other stuff out of your vagina and to reduce irritation of that sensitive skin. So be swimsuit ready. But overdoing can result in lots of skin irritation or even infection.

So there you have it. Summer safety tips from the gyno. Oh, and in case you were thinking about blowing off one of your fingers with fireworks, here’s an OBGYN joke just for you…

I’m back! It has been almost a month since my last post. In that month I have felt TERRIBLE. At one point I thought I would never stop coughing and that I would get diabetes from my cough drop consumption. Don’t worry, I switched to sugar free. But now I’m about 89.32% better and have found the time to write again. (Which is code for I can stay up late and finish things). And so here we are.

It’s July. For most people July represents the middle of summer. Vacations, lazy days at the pool, short days at work. In medicine July means ALL THINGS NEW. As in, all the things are new. New medical students, new residents, new academic calendar. You see, I work in Academic Medicine. Which means that I work at an institution of higher education where we train medical students to become competent, caring, ethical physicians and then train physicians to be competent, caring, ethical specialists in their chosen field. Sounds easy, right? I will try to briefly introduce you to what the summer is like for those of us insane enough to participate in this great adventure of education.

Medical school is 4 years long and almost exclusively completed after a 4 year bachelors degree is achieved. In the first 2 years students spend their time in courses learning anatomy, the complexity of each organ system, structure and function of the body and its cellular systems, human behavior and so much more. They come to class, have small group sessions, read and read and read some more and take lots of exams. By the time they come to the third year they are ready to see how all they have learned can be applied to patients and diseases. Oh and did I mention they also have to pass the first step of the 3 step medical licensing exam? In the third year our goal for a student is to be able to see a patient, perform a basic physical exam and formulate a differential diagnosis. What that means is that when they hear a patient’s symptoms and know their history they can think about what diseases they are most at risk for and/or most likely to have. Only once that is done can we as physicians begin to think about what testing and treatment someone might need. Medical students don’t do anything without supervision. Sometimes patients will ask if the medical student is going to perform their surgery or deliver their baby. I can answer that with a resounding NOPE. What a medical student will do is participate in surgery with me where they will learn the hows and whys of that specific operation. They will check on their patients in the hospital and often serve as an extra set of eyes, ears or hands to ensure that all the details of patient care are taken care of and nothing has been overlooked in making sure a patient makes it safely home after surgery. In addition to all this they are reading, going to lectures, taking tests. At the end of the third year we hope they have chosen a medical specialty. Then they spend their final year of medical school spending time in areas of their chosen specialty, as well as interviewing for a residency position and taking the 2nd step of that all important medical licensing exam series I mentioned before. So for me July means making sure the syllabus and all the materials our third year students get and use equip them to learn the most they can about women’s health. It means making sure those 4th year students who have chosen my specialty have the best opportunity to train at the institution of their choice for residency.

July 1st also marks the day new residents begin their training. These are recent medical school graduates who have gone through a very competitive process to secure their place in a residency training program. Each specialty in medicine has residency training and each specialty decides how long that training should be. For example, OBGYN residency is four years long. Neurosurgery residency is 8 years long. (no thank you). While in residency these doctors have a focused practice where they will learn every detail of their specialty. It is also the time when they are trained to perform procedures and surgeries all in a supervised environment with the intention that at the end of their training they are ready to care for patients on their own. In the meantime they will spend up to 80 hours a week in the hospital where supervising physicians will provide guidance, support, and supervision. At the end of those at least 10,000 hours of training each resident will decide whether to join a private or hospital based practice, become an academic physician or, for those brave/crazy enough, pursue even more specialized training. One of our greatest privileges is to watch those residents graduate and know that they will provide the kind of patient care you would want for your family and friends.

It’s a long journey into a career as a physician. It can consume more than a decade of your life. In truth the learning never stops. For those in OBGYN we have a written and then oral exam to become board certified after residency. To maintain our specialty certification we read articles and participate in chart reviews each year. We attend conferences and workshops to learn from one another and maintain and improve our skills. We read articles and travel across the country and collaborate to find the most effective ways to educate our medical students and residents.

So if you see a medical student or a resident, give them a hug or a handshake or a pat on the back. During a time when there is a lot of uncertainty in healthcare they have made the choice to commit their lives to the service of others. When no one can seem to agree who should have access to care or who will pay for that care, they have dedicated a huge chunk of their lives to ensure that care is available no matter what. Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s July so I need a nap.